Next Generation: Underclassmen Poised to Break Out

Here are some under-the-radar names to know that are making big impacts for their programs:    At 6'3 195, Lars Jergensen has a tremendous athletic frame with long muscular arms and high hips - Lars looks like a D1 football player.  Also playing baseball, Ralston does a great job moving him around to utilize his athleticism and toughness putting him at Field DE, Stack LB, and a double mug A-gap rusher on 3rd down to name a few.  He shows some fluidity in the open field while covering RBs and zoning off into the flat and is very comfortable moving backwards while keeping his shoulders squared to the LOS and his eyes on the QB from his edge spot.  He also does a great job fighting to maintain his gap against wide and inside zone plays as well as setting the edge and holding the point when assigned utilizing toughness, his length, and strength against offensive linemen.  Watching Lars live you can see how well coached and disciplined he and this Ralston Valley team is coached by how he plays the run - consistently doing his job and pursuing hard downfield with run away from him.  He really does a great job quickly recognizing the block he's getting and reacting quickly and accordingly.  His pass rush off the edge is something I'd like to see him improve this off-season.  At times I think he tries to go down the middle of tackles too often and would like to see him play half the man and utilize his length and bend around the edge.  Adding to his pass rush tool bag could make him lethal and push him to be a top 25 athlete in the '27 class for Colorado.  You can see his closing speed in his forced intentional grounding against Denver South.  While I'm a big fan of him at field DE utilizing his run defending strengths, athleticism in the open space in the flat (could probably wrinkle him into hook/curl zone with his athleticism), and his speed to run with RBs I wonder if he could also be effective as an ILB.  If his speed numbers are there, he could be a FBS linebacker.  If you couldn't tell, I'm a big fan of Lars and would kill to get him on my collegiate program if I could and hopefully after reading this and checking out his tape you are too.  A lot of potential for #11.     At 6'3 170, Jayden Bradley has prototypical size and length to play in the backend.   Playing in a very college ready defense, Eaglecrest mixes it up with Jayden playing in 2 high, rolling down and deep late to a 1 high structure, and some split field coverages giving Jayden many different responsibilities.  Jayden is tremendous in catch technique in off coverage on inside TEs and WRs using his length and foot speed to truly blanket threats.  He consistently makes plays on the ball, punching through WRs hands on PBUs.  The safety shows a smooth backpedal and good COD.  Jayden also isn't afraid to come down stick it to ball carriers.  he diagnoses plays and triggers quickly especially in the RZ where he knows he needs to play with more urgency. He does a great job communicating.  in the offseason Jayden is a hooper and previously attended Green Mountain HS for his SO and FR seasons.     The first thing that popped to me while watching [player_tooltip player_id='1648290' first='Sam' last='Early']'s film is the twitch he shows in the pocket paired with some explosiveness when escaping and scrambling.  Early is quicker than fast and uses short quick steps to be agile and shed tacklers that can't get a good grip on him.  His deep ball has good touch and I like how he throws on the run which shows off his quick, efficient release.  A unique trait I like is his ability to move around the pocket at different speeds.  Often times I see QBs trying to move around the pocket and run at their top gear - Early does a good job knowing when to maneuver in a secondary gear and then accelerate leaving the DL with no chance to catch him, like a point guard changing pace.  Whilst all this he also does a good job keeping his eyes downfield while scrambling.  A threat with his legs, Early is a tough runner on option plays, QB designed runs, and of course scrambles which was on full display against Alamosa earlier this season.  I also like Early's ability to work the middle of the field, finding soft spots within underneath zones to get his playmakers the ball quickly with opportunities for yards after catch.  Early shows great poise and command in the pocket, I'm excited to see him continue to grow this season and next.     Tall and long, high-hipped slight frame, Moies Toure has tons of potential just off his frame.  Getting to evaluate him live, Toure covers ground well on the backend flying around with massive strides and triggers quickly in the run game from the deep middle safety spot.  Toure lined up at CB and Safety this game where he is impactful at both spots.  Offensively, he is a massive target and did a good job transitioning quickly upfield to get YAC. He showed some twitch with the ball in his hands to frequently make the first man miss and get vertical.  Toure also did a great job hustling downfield and blocking on a long catch and run for his teammate forcing 3 defenders to miss tackles.  He takes film sessions very seriously and knows tendencies of his opponent prior to the game.  Toure has a tremendous drive to get better and am excited to see the strides he takes this offseason.     Caleb Ladegard is a high-hipped kid with great bend and body control.  He plays with a good base through contact, then drives after finding a grip on DL doing a great job engaging his lower half trying to roll hips and lift DL out of place.  In pass pro he shows quick feet to mirror DTs and does well against spin moves and "playing the piano" as they say.  As a Center, he snaps with good pace and consistently can give laces on his snaps, quite the weapon for QB [player_tooltip player_id='1648290' first='Sam' last='Early'].  On the defensive side, Ladegard does a great job shocking, getting extension, holstering down and away and securing the tackle.  He does a good job bringing his back foot when striking which young players often take time to do with consistency.  By the end of his HS career, he will have been a 4-year varsity starter, rare to find for OL and experience should help him at next level.  As Ladegard adds weight and continues to grow into his body, he should be a dependable Center for a collegiate program.  I'm excited to see his growth the next few years.

Here are some under-the-radar names to know that are making big impacts for their programs: